BREAKING NEWS

Italy’s Jewish community mobilizes

ROME – The catastrophic earthquake that hit central Italy on Wednesday sparked an outpouring of goodwill from around the world, including Israel and the local Jewish community.
In Rome, Italy’s largest Jewish community began a blood drive and vowed to raise money to help the victims of the quake, according to Adam Smulevich from the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI).
“Our hearts are heavy with concern for our brothers in the area impacted by the earthquake,” Shalom Bahbout, chief rabbi of Venice, told The Jerusalem Post.
Noemi Di Segni, president of UCEI, issued a statement saying Italy’s Jews express full solidarity with the victims of the quake, and are also ready to mobilize “in a concrete and immediate way to confront the current state of emergency.”
JTA contributed to this report.